Going Live!!

[sensei8]

Weapons must be respected right from the very start. If one treats their weapon in a lackadaisical manner, said weapon will remind you in an unceremoniously way that you won't soon forget.

Making a mistake with a weapon can change your life, and the life of others, forever.

Control the weapon, and don't allow the weapon to control you. Take special care when by-standers are near; their safety is paramount over learning and training with weapons. Be wary of your surroundings at all times, in that, warn all by-standers to keep their distance while training and the like.

For the most part, when introduced to a new weapon, students are given "practice" weapons because safety is tantamount. Furthermore, it's advisable to train with "practice" weapons when the floor is being shared and visitors are in attendance, no matter the skill level. I will wield a "practice" weapon when I'm not alone on the floor or in the dojo, and I've been training in Kobudo since 1967.

The other spectrum of weapons training, and the purpose of the thread, is concerning the fact that there's a time when the Kobudo student finally goes live with said weapon. This is the time to highly respect said weapon with all of your heart, mind, and soul. You endanger others, as well as yourself with the smallest inattention to surroundings and with by-standards.

Check your weapon for any flaw!! Is the weapon solid through and through? If not, repair it first or replace it first; either way, that flawed weapon should stay off the floor. Retire it, if need be; the sooner, the better for everyone's safety sake. After all, proper care in all manners, maintaining weapons in a safe and effective condition is part of training. I always, even when I'm not training with a particular weapon, administer a great amount of care to my weapons...I respect my weapons, and to do so, is to properly look over its continuous condition.

Polish it...clean it...inspect it...adjust it...replace it...fix it...oil it...wipe it...powder it!! Treat it with loving care, and it will do the same for you!! Your weapon can't do it, YOU have too!!

Always remember what your instructor(s) have taught you. Obey their guidance unswervingly! Their guidance is without any happenstance, and therefore any of their forgone conclusions shouldn't be argued upon. Don't go live UNTIL your instructor gives you the green light!! "Practice" weapons aren't boring at all because they're designed to provide the Kobudo student a means of training with minimal risks to all who train and for those who aren't training.

The nunchaku, for example, can and will thump you in practically every part of your body; your finger tips or the back of your head or your elbow...you name the body part, and the nunchaku will find it sooner or later. I'd come out of a training session with a live nunchaku with new bumps and bruises and Band-Aids.

Kama, for example, single or in pairs, can shred. Be careful your Kama isn't shredding you or your gi. Add a sling to it and start twirling it, you better remember that you're in the middle of this unforeseen food processor. I stuck myself right into my right knee; skewered by my one inattention.

Sai, for example, has three prongs that can puncture a many body part, and one big blunt end that will crack your skull or your many other bones. I've poked myself in the side so often I started to tape pads to my sides for protection. Why? Inattention to detail!!

Bo, for example, will leave you bruised and pelted while training; it's a really long baseball bat, and when I first thought about the bo and how it was so harmless, well, I was taught real fast that anything is possible, and it was...to me!! I smacked my own mouth right often...how?...inattention!!

These are some examples that I've encountered when I went live for the first time. Now, these are distant memories!! Advanced movements are just layers of unforeseen tortures awaiting the less expecting students in their Kobudo future.

Wielding a live weapon can be a daunting experience, especially the first time! Mizu No Kokoro and Tsuki No Kokoro must be in harmony as a MAist, and with a live weapon, now is the time that these two maxims must be attended to and in concert with one another; keeping ones mind on every miniscule movement will spare the unknown from occurring.

Be mindful of the weapon!! It can crash...it can cut...it can hurt...it can overwhelm...it can kill...in short...it can do quite a lot of good, but in the hands of a careless practitioner, it can do quite a lot of bad. Your weapon doesn't care if it's you or someone else; it does what it's designed to do without any ambiguity. So be for sure that it's intended target is the only target!!

Homemade weapons are fine, just as long as safety is understood and followed at every part of producing said weapon. When you purchase a weapon from either a commercial manufacturer or from a homemade shop, inspect it when you first receive it to ensure its soundness. Then, every day and every time you train with it, make sure it's still sound through and through; practice or live, either of them can cause havoc.

Weapons don't destroy, the practitioner does!! The weapon doesn't love, the practitioner does!! The weapon doesn't think, the practitioner does!! The weapon doesn't decide, the practitioner does!!

Go live or go home!! Nice sentiment, but without substance, it's best that one went home while leaving Kobudo training with those who can and will defend the honor of the weapon. That honor starts with safety for all!!

Horseplay and weapons don't belong together; practice or live weapons!! When you horseplay, you demonstrate plain ignorance, and more importantly, you demonstrate that you've no honor for said weapon or your fellow MAist or innocent by-standers or yourself!! Protect and guard your weapon from ANYONE to accidentally and purposefully pick up any of your weapons!! Especially a live weapon!!

Be guarded with any weapons that are either on display or in their resting place, especially when children are present. Their curiosity will get the best of them UNLESS you're attentive to your surroundings. Make sure that all students and visitors know the rules concerning any and all Kobudo weapons. DON'T TOUCH can't be emphasized enough, imho!!

Training with a Kobudo weapon is both an honor and a privilege, and not a right for the MAist. I believe that this must be understood first before one can begin training in Kobudo, and especially when one finally goes live with any Kobudo weapon!!

Your thoughts, please!!

[yamesu]

SOLID!

Edit: to re-enforce your points, I have been practicing tameshigiri for over 10 years now, but still use a red-oak bokken more than I use my shinken.

[sensei8]

SOLID!

Edit: to re-enforce your points, I have been practicing tameshigiri for over 10 years now, but still use a red-oak bokken more than I use my shinken.

I agree...I train with the bokken more as a warm up before going live.